Overwhelmed with fitting - thoughts/suggestions please?

[Howard_Jones]

> @AlohaJoe said:

> Thanks - taping the length of the shaft obviously makes much more sense. I don’t know what I read that confused me.

 

My bad, i only wrote "Mark the middle of the tape, and align with the MID shaft mark."...but should have used other words and explained we have to use "head to grip direction" both ways from the approximate middle (or BP of the shaft)

if it was only 2 grams, this dont matter, but when we add as much as 10 grams, it want feel the same as a 10 grams plus shaft unless we place the tape so weight is distributed against both head and grip like it would on a shaft.

 

So, sorry for bad instructions from my side, the fault is mine, i know better, and should have expressed this more correct than i did, no wonder you did not make it.

[AlohaJoe]

No worries! I thought I read somewhere to center weight 14” from grip end, so with that already in my ahead I just made a bad assumption. But either way I’m learning a ton about all this!

[Howard_Jones]

> @AlohaJoe said:

> No worries! I thought I read somewhere to center weight 14” from grip end, so with that already in my ahead I just made a bad assumption. But either way I’m learning a ton about all this!

 

Thats not a good idea at all, someone came up with that because we dont see any changes on the SW scale when we place the weight on the SW scales fulcrum, but thats NOT the balance point of the shaft where added shaft weight ends up, and its not the point of rotation either, so its simply a wrong judgement of where we should place weight to simulate a higher shaft weight. If we add shaft weight, WE DO make a influence on SW value, because the shafts BP is in front of the SW scales fulcrum, so its a bad idea to try it off using 14" as location for the added shaft weight, since we dont get the feel it will deliver with a higher shaft weight.

 

If we wanted to to it "perfect" we would have to distribute the lead tape on the FULL LENGTH of the shaft, but we cant really do that (the grip covers about 10 to 11" of the shaft), so simply using the shafts own balance point and go up/down with the lead tape from that point is what we do to get this as close to the actual change we try to simulate as possible.

[AlohaJoe]

I tried 15g tape on 6i to simulate ~120g shaft. It quickly reminded me it was my 3rd consecutive day swinging clubs and was too tiring. So first thought was to rest and try again starting with less weight. But, then I measured SW at home: 919Ts are still D2 despite lighter shafts! So must already have tip weight to compensate lighter than stock shaft (nothing in grip end) and therefore 15g tape was not an accurate assessment and heavier (heft and SW) than stock setup.

 

When I tried light shafts in stores/fitting I didn't see weight adjustments - no scales, no boxes of weights, etc., they just bolted the head to the shaft and handed it to me. If the cart shafts aren't SW/heft compensated (seems they shouldn't be for those who want lighter clubs), then it explains struggling in shops but liking what I bought.

 

I should note that shots with 919s are going really high. Adding weight to shaft seemed to make them go even higher? IDK if that's a bad thing - it's bad for wind (which we have in Hawaii) but maybe better to have a club I can easily hit high and learn to flight lower...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Howard_Jones]

> @AlohaJoe said:

> I tried 15g tape on 6i to simulate ~120g shaft. It quickly reminded me it was my 3rd consecutive day swinging clubs and was too tiring. So first thought was to rest and try again starting with less weight. But, then I measured SW at home: 919Ts are still D2 despite lighter shafts! So must already have tip weight to compensate lighter than stock shaft (nothing in grip end) and therefore 15g tape was not an accurate assessment and heavier (heft and SW) than stock setup.

>

> When I tried light shafts in stores/fitting I didn't see weight adjustments - no scales, no boxes of weights, etc., they just bolted the head to the shaft and handed it to me. If the cart shafts aren't SW/heft compensated (seems they shouldn't be for those who want lighter clubs), then it explains struggling in shops but liking what I bought.

>

> I should note that shots with 919s are going really high. Adding weight to shaft seemed to make them go even higher? IDK if that's a bad thing - it's bad for wind (which we have in Hawaii) but maybe better to have a club I can easily hit high and learn to flight lower...

>

 

Tweak lofts stronger if flight is to high, the ball we play has no clue where loft came from....

"By the book", more shaft weight = lower ball flight, and thats why fitting ALWAYS is a trial and error process, we might have a idea of what we can expect, but thats not always what we get, sometimes its like your case, the other direction.

Its as simple as this, change of weight changed your access to the ball, and we never know what direction that goes before we tried it off, and its NOT a good idea to use more or less shaft weight for ball flight reasons, weight is for your tempo and resistance, not ball flight, thats a loft issue, so go stronger on lofts if ball flight is to high.

 

PS! dont worry about change of bounce, the relationship loft to bounce is fixed, so it its a shaft that bends less, or if we bend static lofts down to get the same loft at impact, bounce is equal in both cases, we cant overrule that, so just go stronger on lofts if you want a lower flight.

 

 

[AlohaJoe]

I think the shaft is too soft particularly with the extra weight. At my full swing speed Mizuno has me at 105X and this is 105S (didn’t know that when I bought them, every other shaft it has me in S.) With the extra weight I think I’m loading it up and it’s flexing too far forward before impact. I’m just learning about all this so I could be wrong. But when I get on it with the bare shaft (no extra weight) I become aware of the unloading right around impact.

[Howard_Jones]

> @AlohaJoe said:

> I think the shaft is too soft particularly with the extra weight. At my full swing speed Mizuno has me at 105X and this is 105S (didn’t know that when I bought them, every other shaft it has me in S.) With the extra weight I think I’m loading it up and it’s flexing too far forward before impact. I’m just learning about all this so I could be wrong. But when I get on it with the bare shaft (no extra weight) I become aware of the unloading right around impact.

 

if it aint lead you into dispersion problems, its nothing to worry about, just go stronger on lofts for now, and go stronger on shafts by the next crossroad when a change is wanted.

[AlohaJoe]

Just went to the golf shop while it was quiet and got to play, with lots of shafts and even the SW scale. I started light and kept increasing weight, and by the end was at KBS Tour 130g X (kind of familiar!) SS up to 88mph (7i) and felt like I was driving a truck through the golf ball! Tech even walked from across the store saying he could hear the difference in contact. Spin was up to 6000s, vs 4000 w/every other shaft. Carry into low 170s, descent angle high 40s. No hooks, no left misses, and much more solid contact. It’s a way heavier shaft but I don’t feel like I have to fight it like I’ve been with everything else - even the KBS 120 S was work to keep from going left.

 

I know I’m right where fitter #1 wanted to see me - I guess I just needed to get there myself since I haven’t been grooving yet. Thanks to everyone for helping out. There’s lots of great info on this forum and I’m glad to be here! Now I’m ready to stop thinking about clubs and get on with playing. Ha!

[AlohaJoe]

I got my clubs w/ KBS Tour X shafts. Honestly was second-guessing the X flex a bit. First shots were 1/2 to 3/4 swings on posh grass range, nice range balls. First impression was they felt harsh and stung. BUT for the first time EVER I felt like I could hit down on the ball with control (always been a thin hitter.) My pro even broke from his current lesson to comment on how well I was hitting. Played 4-5 holes that day and wasn't as aware of the 'sting' but definitely didn't feel soft. Ball flight and control was very good - straight, high, decent green holding, etc.. I might have lost a few yds from the Modus 105 S but also didn't feel the need to swing 110% on every shot like I always have, so maybe there's a few more yds to be found. Also might be fighting a little higher. I do feel the shaft unload when I swing, say, over 75%. Common miss shifted from slight left to slight right (straight flight) which is actually relieving.

 

I played 18 the next day. Course was junk and fairways were mostly just dirt. So I didn't get a good feel for the clubs, but did notice fatigue on the last few holes. I pulled a few shots - have to figure out if that's body compensation, or maybe was just frustrated and trying to avoid hitting dirt. I haven't played 18 in over a year and was at clinic the day before so maybe the fatigue was normal.

 

Playing 18 at a nice course on Sunday, so after a week's rest I think that will be a good evaluation day. This Roger Dunn 90-day exchange policy is really incredible - I don't want to abuse it but it's nice to know I can make a change if necessary.

 

Biggest takeaway is the ball contact and club awareness - on paper it doesn't seem like I'd fit a 130g shaft